This Roma side will forever be remembered as one of the great Scudetto winning squads during the Serie A’s golden era. For the Romanista’s their 2000/2001 squad is one that is still talked about today. The first Roman side to win the Scudetto in 18 years since their previous achievement back in 1983 and the last time that the capital club has seen their men in the famous Giallorossi hold aloft that trophy.
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Led by the tactics of Fabio Capello who came to the capital in 1999, this was a Roma side with fluidity throughout and a constant attacking threat for all opponents to deal with. While Capello’s first season in Rome was rather forgettable with a sixth place finish and having to see bitter cross town rival Lazio claim the Scudetto, his second season rectified the previous campaign. Spending over £50 to bring in reinforcements to strengthen his squad in the form of Argentine centre-back Walter Samuel, Brazil’s Emerson and luring Gabriel Batistuta away from his beloved Fiorentina, Capello now had added further quality to his squad which already had the likes of Cafu, Hidetoshi Nakata and Italian internationals Damiano Tommasi, Vincenzo Montella, Marco Delvecchio and local boy Francesco Totti. Playing with an attacking 3-5-2 formation with Totti sitting just behind the front two as the trequartista, Roma were lethal going forward. While the back three had Samuel and Zebina as the robust markers and Aldair playing the role of the libero and a midfield featuring Emerson, Tommasi and Cristiano Zanetti sharing the roles of the two holding midfielders, Roma were very stable and secure in dealing with the attacking quality that their league rivals such as Lazio, Juventus, Milan and others had on hand. The true brilliance of this 3-5-2 system was in the form of the wing backs. In Cafu and Vincent Candela not only did they defend to make the back three look like a back five when Roma were under threat but it was their ability to bomb forward for 90 minutes consistently to cause havoc for their opponents. This was highlighted from their ability to get in behind defences and provide the crosses for Batistuta and co to get on the end of.
Upfront Roma had Batistuta. A proven success at Fiorentina, in ‘Batigol’s’ first season in the capital he netted 20 in 28 games. ‘Batigol’ was just the man Capello needed to spear head his forward line and he did not disappoint. With Vincenzo Montella being the surprise package with 14 goals during the season, Roma had two men at the top of their game who knew how to find the back of the net. And then came Francesco Totti. What more can be said about this man in a Roma shirt. Born and bred as a Romanista, Totti was immense playing as the trequartista. At just 24, Totti was given the freedom by Capello to play in between the lines and work his magic to provide the creativity for Roma’s attack. It was ‘Il Capitano’s’ displays during this campaign that solidified Totti’s place as one of the world’s finest footballers.
Batistuta scoring on that final day where Roma clinched their first title in 18 years.
Image from Calcio Malato
(http://calciomalato.blogosfere.it/post/426682/roma-news-almeyda-rivela-scudetto-2001-truccato)
Capello’s men stood out to come out on top in a very competitive Seria A, just as their cross town rivals Lazio had done the season before, after Juve and Milan were locked in a constant battle for the Scudetto the many seasons prior. A 3-1 victory over Parma on the final day of the season summed it up for this Roman squad. The men who spear headed Roma’s attack throughout the campaign, Batistuta, Montella and Totti were the ones to deliver the Scudetto for those Giallorossi fans who had waited a long time.
Here’s some highlights of that magical final day in the capital as Roma defeated Parma 3-1 to clinch their first league title in 28 years.
classicocalcio 